


Bring Me To Life

by purplecyphers



Series: Robbie Rotten/Rottenella [1]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-07
Updated: 2008-03-07
Packaged: 2017-10-15 15:12:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/162119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplecyphers/pseuds/purplecyphers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[COMPLETE; UPDATED & EDITED] Named after the song by Evanescence: When inspiration comes, what better than to follow it? And what if it leads to romance? Follow in an adventure of life, love, and more! Robbie Rotten/Rottenella pairing, name change included.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life Given

The first thing she saw as she woke was the blue metal floor. Confused, she shook her head slightly, feeling as if this were familiar somehow. It took her a moment to realise that it was indeed. Irked, she still couldn't place from where. Life felt, in her heart, to be something foreign, something that wasn't natural. She didn't really notice much around her in those first moments, otherwise she would have recalled sooner her previous brush with life through recognition of her 'maker'.

Robbie Rotten walked away from the human-like doll to find more material. Making this doll as human as possible was proving to be more difficult that he initially imagined. These were the moments he wished he had an assistant for his work, at which he mentally berated himself. That was the exact reason for what he was doing at the present moment, so why wish it whilst accomplishing it?

As he continually questioned himself with rhetoric meanderings, he never did notice the doll stand upright and fully take in her surroundings.

Rottenella: she remembered her name, and she remembered her previous life the moment she looked upward and saw the pipes and machines all around her. She started at a sound behind her, and turned quickly to see what it was. Robbie was currently throwing things around, looking for something obviously, and making quite the mess in the process. She tilted her head watching him, wondering exactly why she was brought back. She was a dancer from a music box, whatever need could he have of her?

Still watching his feet as we walked away from the pile of parts, Robbie made his way back to where he was working on Rottenella. It wasn't until he was standing before her that he noticed she was awake, aware, and watching every move he made. This being unexpected, he jumped back slightly, lost his footing, and presently fell to the floor in a heap.

"I meant to do that," Was all he could say as he quickly recovered and stood again. His mishap made the doll giggle a bit. "What are you laughing at?" He snarled at her, crouching down to her level and pinning her under his gaze seriously.

For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. She didn't even know she could speak, for she had never tried. But as Robbie kept staring at her, she realised she could, indeed, speak.

"I- you- funny." It wasn't a complete sentence or even a solid statement, but he understood it nonetheless.

"You think I'm funny? Funny joke-ha-ha, or funny in-a-good-way?"

"Funny in-a-good-way funny."

He scrutinised her for a moment before smiling, patting her head, and saying nonchalantly, "I'm a genius." What was said next, however, surprised him more than anything.

"Are you my father?"

Robbie didn't think that giving her a heart, brain, and every other essential organ a human had would put such thoughts into his doll's head. He didn't want a daughter, he hated children. He wanted an assistant, someone to help him, not love him. So he answered with a short, "No."

"Then are you my mother?" This wasn't something he expected. Her first question must have been because of his gender. But this one must be, he thought, her desperation.

"You don't have any parents." He thought that would do, this whole thing over with, and he could finish her in relative peace so that they could start the next part of his plan. But, like was common practice in Robbie's career of villainy, it backfired.

Collapsing onto the ground, she began crying uncontrollably. "I have no parents," Was the mantra she kept repeating to herself, the pain unabashedly shown on her face. Wholly taken by surprise, Robbie didn't know what to do; this was something he had never encountered before.

Just as Robbie was about to say something to try and comfort her with, a blur of blue shot out into his main living area and, to Robbie's great annoyance, Sportacus was kneeling beside Rottenella, his hand on her shoulder for comfort. After hearing her words, the above average hero looked up at his nemesis.

"What? I told her what she wanted to know. Just because I made her real doesn't make me her father. I'm not the person who made the music box she came from, and I don't know where it came from, I just found it in here one day!"

Sportacus looked back at Rottenella. "It's going to be okay," Was all he could think of saying.

"No, it's not," She said between her tears. "I'm a nobody." She sniffled. "If he isn't my father," she pointed to Robbie, "than what am I to do; doesn't everyone have to have parents?"

"Whoever said that?"

"You named me once," She shot back, taking both men off guard. "And how else am I supposed to know where I fit in the world. Something tells me that I need someone to love me, aren't that what parents are for?"

"Maybe," Sportacus whispered, "Just maybe you don't need parents, maybe you can still find your place in the world without them."

"Really?" She had stopped crying and was looking up at the two enemies expectantly. "How?"

"Go out into the world and find it for yourself."

"Hey!" Robbie interjected. "I made her human to have an assistant, not to have you going and putting ideas into her head. I have food, clothing, and shelter here for her and this is where she will stay!"

"All right," Sportacus stood up, "If that's the case, then I guess I'm done here. By the way, what is your name?" He looked back at Rottenella.

She was about to speak when Robbie took over. "I haven't decided yet. I named her once, but it doesn't suit her any more. I'll have to figure something else out."

This surprised the doll, who thought that she was stuck with her awful name from her first living incarnation. Smiling at Sportacus, she waved as he left, going back up the tube he came in from.

"Are you really going to rename me?" She spoke quietly after a moment, not wanted to make him any angrier than he already appeared to be. His face softened when she spoke, and he sat next to her on the floor.

"Forgive the blue sports elf, he doesn't know when to mind his own business. And yes, but I think you should pick your name. The one I gave you, whatever it was, I've forgotten."

"Rottenella." She gave a disgusted look at saying it.

"What?" Her memory of it surprised him.

"You named me Rottenella last time. You had me dance in a competition and I lost. I'm sorry about that you know." She looked down as she spoke.

"Don't be sorry. I tried cheating anyway, would have lost no matter what." He put a finger under her chin and lifted it just so. "Now, before that blue-suited blow-hard came in, I was going to ask you why you wanted parents."

"I don't really know why," She shook her head, dislodging his finger, and hanging it again, lower than before. "It was just this feeling I had, so I went with it."

"Well, I can't be your father. I'm not good with children. And I didn't make you to be a child. I made you to be a grown-up. I made you to be my equal."

"Why are you suddenly being nice to me? You were mean before."

"Something changed I guess." Now it was Robbie's turn to look down, slightly disquieted by her comment.

"I don't know what to do…" Her statement was whispered so softly, he almost missed it.

"Then let's get you something to eat and you can sleep on it. You don't have to make up your mind on anything yet. You've just awoken to a new existence, so I suppos you have some getting used to it to get over."

"Why are you being nice to me?" She repeated, that look of pure innocence taking over her features.

"Because…" He paused. Sighing, he continued slowly, "I don't really know. Something is telling me I should, so I am. Geniuses like myself do things their minds tell them without questioning it, it is the genius way!" He helped her stand up as he spoke, and as she tried standing on her own, she lost her balance easily. His reflexes weren't always so keen, but he immediately flayed out and caught her in his arms, pulling her closely to his body.

"Careful," Was all he could say as he let her go and held her by the shoulders to make sure she would stay standing this time. When he was sure she could stand, he let go and began walking toward his makeshift kitchen. She followed, dutifully, and was handed a plate with a piece of cake on it. She looked at him, puzzled, and put the plate down.

"Do you have anything else to eat?" He huffed, opening the refrigerator and handing her an apple. She smiled, took it in her hands, and began to devour it. For reasons unbeknownst to him, he also got her a glass of water. When she finished with the apple, she immediately took the glass and emptied it.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Since you're done, I'm going to go get something for you then."

"All right. Um… what am I to call you?" She asked as he was gathering up said clothing. As he came back, his arms were full of clothing of many colours and styles, shirts, skirts, and pants.

"My name is Robbie Rotten." He set the clothing down beside her as he spoke.

"What is all this for?"

"For you to wear. Unless you want to wear that ridiculous outfit you already have."

She looked down at herself. Her outfit was in simple shades of purple, and the tutu was as it should be; was it really so ridiculous? Well, if Robbie thought it was, then he must be right, right?

At this point, Robbie felt it was safe to go back and relax in his fluffy orange chair. The moment he opened his eyes however, he was greeted with the view of a young woman beginning to undress. Thankfully she had only just started to take her clothing off, but for a single moment, he couldn't think of what to do.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Changing into something from the pile. Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"

Annoyance began to creep into his mind as he realise that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't finished with this doll. Obviously she was missing something, since she was about ready to expose herself to the world without a care to the wind. Granted, he wasn't 'the world', but it was the principal of the issue. Rushing over, he grabbed her left arm and began dragging her behind him.

"Yes, I suppose that's what I wanted, but you just don't change in front of someone, especially someone who is male…" He stopped for a moment, looking down at her.

At that moment Robbie Rotten finally had a revelation, of sorts. A revelation that only could have come from such a circumstance as this, something that wasn't truly present elsewhere. He had, in part, created her, and now he alone, or so he felt, was responsible for her well-being, education, and any other need that might arise—just like a parent. Only, he knew, he could never be her parent. He wasn't someone who could handle children well, and on the times he had tried, he had failed. It was the reason she was created to appear almost as an adult, in his estimate around nineteen or twenty years. Now all he could wonder was whether or not he felt like her parent. He quickly shook that off. He wasn't her parent, couldn't be. He had just improved and enhanced someone else's creation. She wasn't really, completely, his making. Just his renovation.

"I have a room for you. A place where you will dress and sleep." Robbie opened the door to another metal-clad room. Inside was a comfortable looking bed, decked out in purple hues, and accentuated with fluffy orange pillows, much reminiscent of his chair in the main hall. She looked around for only a moment before running a few steps and launched herself onto the bed.

"This is wonderful! Thank you so much Robbie!" She cuddled herself into the pillows, hugging an orange one tightly in her arms. Sometime inside of him smiled.

"I'll go get your clothes then and you can change in here." As he went about doing just that, he couldn't stop thinking about her smile. It was, in his assessment, radiant.

While he was doing that for her, she laid there thinking, critically thinking. If she didn't have any parents, then who was she to look up to. With the mindset she had, for a teenager, she had to look up to someone and something inside her told her that Robbie wasn't the one. He was something different—something that made her stomach flutter.

When he returned, he unceremoniously dropped the clothes onto her bed, and turned abruptly, leaving and closing the door behind himself. She rose, then, and picked through the clothing left to her. Most of it was in her size, surprisingly, and eventually she decided on an outfit. Taking off her current attire was more difficult that she realised. There was a zipper in the back that she could not, no matter how she tried to twist her body around, reach. Carefully, she walked out into the main hall and came up behind Robbie, who was watching television and beginning to eat a piece of periwinkle cake.

"Excuse me Robbie…" Her voice was so startling to the tall man that he yelped, throwing his plate, cake and all, up into the air and behind where they were. It fell soundly to the floor, splattering on the blue metal, and the fork now embedded into the mush that was a piece of cake.

"Don't do that; don't come up behind me, scaring me like that! Now what do you-" In the course of yelling, he had stood and turned around to face her. Upon inspection he noticed something. "You're not dressed. Why aren't you dressed?"

"I can't get the zipper on the back undone. I've tried so very, very hard Robbie, but I just can't get it undone."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Could you undo the zipper please?" This question did two things to the lanky man. First, it caused him to nearly faint. Secondly, it gave him a thought that he would rather had stayed wherever it came from. No matter what came to him mind, he knew there was no getting around this. He surely didn't want to bring anyone down into his home for any reason, having already been invaded by Sportakook once today already. So he did the only thing he really could—he walked over, took the handle of the zipper, and pulled it down as quickly as possible. Almost the second he reached the bottom of the dress, she whirled around.

"Thank you. That was very helpful," and spinning around again, holding her dress in place, she ran back to her room, shutting the door on her way.

"Well... That was different." Robbie then proceeded to get another piece of cake from his makeshift kitchen, plop back into his chair and continue to watch television.


	2. Learning To Live

There was no sunlight to tell her if it were day and the darkness was artificial, being underground, to tell her if it were night. She didn't know how long she had slept, and she didn't know if Robbie had come into check on her or not. When she first opened her eyes, she had to remind herself of the previous day. When she looked down, she noticed she was still wearing her tutu. The last thing she remembered was coming back into the room after Robbie had kindly unzipped her top for her.

"I must have fallen asleep", she said quietly, "Right after coming over to the bed."

Taking the clothing off, she left it on the ground near the end of the bed. Picking through what was left to her, she picked out a nice outfit, all in purple hues. It consisted of a royal purple coloured baby-doll tunic, with a square-cut neck, that was long enough to look like a dress and deep plum coloured leggings that went down to her ankles. On her feet were nothing since Robbie had yet to give her shoes or socks. Noticing this, she began to feel cold all over, the metal constantly giving off no heat. She jumped back onto the bed and covered herself in the maroon coloured duvet that was there. Laying back down, she sighed heavily. The bed was very comfortable, more so than it looked.

"No wonder I fell asleep so fast, this feels like a cloud." She sighed contently, trying to lay on her side, to cuddle more into the comfort of it all, but found it hard with ponytails on the sides of her head. Sitting up, slightly irritated, she pulled the bands out that kept her hair in place. Throwing them over toward her discarded ensemble, she laid back down on her side, cuddling into the pillow. She couldn't help but notice it smelled like mint and other sweet things.

Back in the main hall, Robbie was thinking on what to do next. He had slept for many hours, how many exactly he wasn't sure since he didn't have a clock in his home. He knew, by looking in his periscope, that it was night time, but other than that, the time would remain unknown. Once again the thought crossed his mind to go out and buy a clock, but he knew he wouldn't. He was just too damn lazy. Centring his mind on the task at hand, he knew he had to figure out what he would do with his little doll. She was very much a child, but also not a child. The ideals to her very existence boggled his mind, truly captivating him in the intriguing circumstances that even lead him to do as he had done. By this time he had forgotten his original reasoning for making his doll human. And, as far as he could tell, that reasoning would remain forgotten, now that another, more lewd, thought had come to him. He was no longer alone. Robbie Rotten actually had someone to be with who, so far as he could tell, would actually want to be with him. Or so his heart strived to hope, even for the smallest of moments. Then, as if caught in a blizzard of doubt and fear, that hope was covered and buried, and anger rose in it's place.

"Why would anyone want to be around Robbie Rotten?" He questioned aloud, sarcasm dripping from his very form. For the next few hours, he sulked around the main hall, mumbling to himself all the doubts and fears his irrational mind could fathom, repetition happen often, and burying that hope even farther from his heart and mind. In his fit, he had started to tinker with his half-assed, half completed, or failed inventions, taking his tried-and-true mallet and causing quite the ruckus.

This had only one effect – waking up the sleeping girl in the next room. The doll poked her head out of the door to the sight of Robbie taking his anger and frustrations out. She didn't know why, but something inside her said that this was bad. Something told her to approach him. Walking up slowly, trying not to be hit by his wild throwing about of the mallet, she tried to get his attention. But the noise was too much. So she resorted, without being hit, to tap him on the shoulder. This did two things. One was scare him senseless, with the sound effects louder than the mallet-induced smashing. And second was cause him to throw the mallet away from him, causing it to crash not so subtly into a wall on the other end of the room.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

From his place on the ground, he looked up at her in surprise for only a moment, then jumped up and started readjusting his vest. "Yes, well, don't do it again?"

"Yes Robbie." She spoke quietly, ashamed for a moment and hanging her head.

"What is it you wanted?" He bent down awkwardly, trying to look her in the eye.

"I wanted to know why you were angry." She barely spoke. For the briefest of moments, she feared he would hurt her, not knowing why.

"None of your business." He spoke sharply, standing straight, his arms frozen at his sides.

"I'm sorry-"

"Stop saying that! You have nothing to be sorry for, you silly, stupid girl!"

He didn't even know why he said it, it just came out before he could think. And hit her hard. She looked up at him for a split second before tears began to fall from her eyes. And then she ran from him, back into the room he dragged her to hours before, ignoring the door, and flying onto the bed in a fit. He stood there for but a moment, stunned at his outburst. He didn't mean it, what he said, then his chest seized up, his throat closed, and his mouth dried out. What he did next amazed him, so much that he wondered about it hours later, questioning all rational thought about the why's and how's of it all. His feet moved without his knowing, and soon he was sitting on the bed, back against the wall—the bed had no head or foot board—holding her against him in his lap, her head on his shoulder, and her arms about him haphazardly. Her crying subsided, weak little noises the only noise in the room as she calmed down.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," He whispered softly into her hair. He ran a hand through it, seemingly brushing it out, hoping the action was comforting somehow.

"Why… should you… be sorry…?"

"Because I've upset you. Because I yelled at you. Because you're not the problem."

"Then why did you yell at me?"

"Because I'm mad at myself."

"Why?" He couldn't help but laugh, just a little. So close to him, it was a rumble in his chest that she could feel, the vibrations coursing through her as well.

"You sure ask a lot of questions. I'm mad at myself because I'm a lonely, rotten man who has never known much kindness. I've never allowed myself happiness, and, I suppose, I'm afraid to," She looked up at him, eyes large and puffy.

"I don't think you're rotten."

"My name is Robbie Rotten, therefore I must be."

"That's not true. A name doesn't always reflect the person." From someone as naïve and innocent as she was, he couldn't help but think how perfectly accurate her words were. For some time, not known really, they just stared at each other. Then, slowly, he laid down in the bed, with her still clutched to him, and covered them both with the duvet. She fell asleep easily, but her words kept him awake.

"How could someone who doesn't even know me touch me so effectually?" Was his final thought before sleep, too, took him.


	3. Becoming Something

She didn't know how long she had slept this time, but she did know that there was a nice warmth beneath her, strong arms holding her, the rise and fall of a person chest against her ear, the heartbeat strong and steady. Then she looked up, and shocked for but a moment, when amazement took her. Robbie Rotten had fallen asleep holding her, his arms wrapped around her small frame, his grip firm and—dare she wonder—protective. She tried to get up, but his arms wrapped around her tighter, and he mumbled something that sounded oddly familiar. When she had moved every way she could think of to get out of his embrace, she slumped back against him; obviously he was a heavy sleeper. It took her a moment to decide if she wanted to try other ways to wake him, and another moment to decide how she would go about it. Wiggling slightly, she moved herself up in his hold till her face was level with his. He looked peaceful when sleeping, his face relaxed and a smile gracing his lips. At seeing his serene composure, she lost all ideas of waking him. Snuggling against him again, she closed her eyes and tried to relax, hoping he would eventually wake up. Just as she started to doze off did he begin to wake. First, he stretched out his limbs, his arms finally releasing her. He didn't really seem aware of his surroundings as he got all his kinks out. As he was beginning to become more aware, one arm came back to lie across her back, loosely holding her to him again. She shifted slightly, completely bringing him out of his half-awake stupor.

"What are you-" He cut himself off as he looked at her, face falling in surprise and utter gall at the circumstances he realised he put himself in.

"Did you sleep well Robbie?" She had her head against his chest, effectually pinning him, shock evident in the stiffening of his whole body. It took him a moment to get the lump out of his throat, but when he had, the answer that came out wasn't what his brain was saying.

"Yes, thank you." He had thanked someone, his mind absently told him. And for the briefest of moments he cared that he was growing soft.

But those thoughts fled when she looked up at him, smiled, and said sweetly, "I'm so glad."

He didn't know how to respond to that, so he said nothing. It was one good thing he was taught as a child that he could actually remember. He just usually didn't act upon that knowledge. He watched as she pulled the duvet off, slunk out of the bed, and then moved the duvet back into place, as if she was never there. She smiled at him again before walking over to the mirror and dressing table that was put near the door. Taking up the brush, she ran it through her raven locks, the tips ending at her shoulder blade, slightly down her back. Her bangs were the easiest, but to her, the most annoying, and it was clear on her face.

"What's the matter?" He couldn't help watching her, couldn't help wondering what went on in that doll mind of hers.

"I don't like my hair," She stated plainly, pulling her hair out to sides, lifting it up, then dropping it.

"I have an invention that might help with that." She met his eyes in the mirror, unable to turn around, shock fixing her features.

"Really?" His smile seemed sweet, but she could see he was blushing, just so.

"Yes," Spoken barely more than a whisper.

"Could I use it, please? I would so love to change my hair from this dreadful style." She turned as she asked, hoping he could see her truthfulness.

He didn't respond, just pushed the duvet off himself, got out of the bed, and starting walking out the room. As he passed her, he motioned for her to follow, a smile gracing his face. She shadowed him dutifully, and was lead through the main hall into another room just as large. Instead of being filled with parts, it was filled completely with inventions, many wondrous things that could do any number of things, all of which she didn't want to find out. Without needing to be told, she was keeping away from them, especially the buttons. When Robbie finally got to the machine he was looking for, she laughed a little. It looked like a normal chair, only with a very large, half-circle headrest.

"Sit." She did as instructed. "I need to know how you want it styled. Here," He handed her a book, "These are all the styles that the machine can do. Pick one."

She opened it, interested. He was letting her choose again. First her clothes, now her hair. One style caught her eye after a few pages—it was shoulder-length, bangs included, and slightly layered in the back at the ends, showing off thick hair on the model. She knew she had somewhat thick hair, and that this might work. It would frame her face, she imagined, in such a way that wouldn't make her look awkward, like she felt with her hair as it was now.

"This one." She pointed it out, holding the book toward him to take. Robbie looked between her and the picture for a moment before taking the book.

"Are you sure?" He slyly asked, hoping to catch her off-guard.

"Yes. It's the perfect style. Not too much different from my hair now, right?"

"Right…" That wasn't the reaction he wanted. For some strange reason, he was glad his trick didn't work, it proved she did have working senses at least.

He flipped a few switches, turned a knob, pressed in the key code for the style, and pressed the large, green ON button. The half-circle headrest expanded, both forward and upward, covering her head in a dome of pure white. Whirling and whizzing could be heard in the dome as it shook and rocked, the doll sitting there seemingly fine with the whole thing. After a moment, it all just stopped and the dome receded back, folding up soundlessly.

"How does it look?" She asked Robbie, hoping he had a mirror on hand.

"Fine. Better than it did, now that I see it." Obviously, he didn't have one nearby.

"Can I see?" just then, he noticed she had the tendency to rest her head on the right side for a split moment when asking a question; he thought it was cute. Snapping his fingers, a mirror dropped down from the ceiling in front of her. It was full-length, hanging just above the ground, and in it she could see herself wholly.

"Oh Robbie-" He knew what was coming.

"You don't-"

"I LOVE IT!" She turned quickly and hugged him round the middle, effectively cutting off his retort, and knocking the wind right out of him. He didn't do anything at first, but like the last time she did this, he wrapped his own arms around her and hugged back. Something inside just told him it was the right thing to do.

"Robbie?"

"Yes?"

"My feet are cold. Do you have any socks and shoes for me?" He pulled her away, looked down at her feet and noticed that, indeed, she had no socks or shoes on.

"I didn't realise I had forgotten those. Come with me." He started walking out, the doll following. But she was stepping slower and slower, the cold having numbed her feet, effectively making it difficult to walk. When he looked to make sure she followed him, he saw her trouble. Sighing heavily, he walked back, put one of her arms around his shoulders, an arm around her legs, and picked her up.

"Well, you're not as heavy as I thought you'd be."

She laughed, quietly, into his shoulder as he carried her back into her room. The walk was longer than she thought, and after a moment, she laid her head on his shoulder, putting her other arm around his neck, clasping her hands together. If he noticed, he didn't show it. Once out of the storage room and through the main hall, Robbie arrived at her room, setting her down softly onto the bed. She watched him closely as he walked around the room to one of three doors she hadn't noticed before.

He opened the closest one to the already open door, which lead to the main hall, "This first door is the bathroom. It has a tub, a sink, and a toilet. Everything one needs in a bathroom," and he closed the door.

He, then, opened the next door, which was facing the end of her bed on the wall adjacent to the other two, "This second door is a closest. It has a place to hang your clothes. In the bottom are boxes full of shoes. You should find ones you like there, they are all girly, like the clothes I gave you," and he closed the door.

He went to the last door, but didn't make to open it. "This leads to a room I don't want you entering. It isn't locked, but I trust you won't open it. Understand?"

"Yes Robbie. What about socks?"

"Those should be in the pile I gave you…" He started going through the girls clothes, throwing them behind him as he went. Once he threw everything behind him, and in a very nice pile as it had been before the search, he huffed.

"I guess I have to buy you some." She started for a moment, then tilted her head to the side.

"Does that mean we're going out again?" It was his turn to start.

"Again? You really remember that time I used you for a dance competition?" He came over to her, leaning down at her as he asked.

"Yes, vaguely." She looked away.

"So you remember tripping me when I went to get you cake?" He looked hurt as he asked, standing up straight again and crossing his arms.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"No reason really, I just remembered it myself. I probably would have fallen giving it to you anyway." His admission was mostly for her benefit, as he could see she felt guilty. She looked up at him carefully.

"You're not angry at me?"

"Should I be?"

"I don't even know why I did it."

"Then we'll just forget about the whole thing, all right?"

"All right."

"Now," He grabbed her hand and started heading out of the room and up the stairs by the door, "We're going to get you those socks." She resisted for a moment, but he let go easily. "What?"

"I still need shoes to go out, I cannot go bare-footed." He looked again at her feet, then back at her, a stunned look on his face.

"Oh! I hadn't thought of that."

"You do that often, don't you?"

"No, not really…"

She smiled, ran back into the room, and began going through the shoes. As she did, Robbie walked back in to watch her. It didn't take her long to find a pair of slip-on shoes, in black, that fit her feet perfectly. Jumping up, she returned to his side, her hand extended. He looked at it, at first not knowing what she meant by it. Slowly, he extended his own hand and took hers in his. This was the first time that someone had so willingly given him their hand for no apparent reason, and it took him aback.

"Aren't we going Robbie?"

"Wha- oh, yes. Just up these stairs and out we go." And they did just that.


	4. New Things Given

It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the change in lighting, the sun being out and her coming up from underground. Acting the gentleman, Robbie helped her climb out of the tube, closing the lid once they were out. He walked her over to the hidden door in the billboard, opened it, and motioned for her to go ahead. She delicately walked down the steps, but waited for him once she reached the ground. Once beside her, he led the way into town. As they walked toward the clothing and shoe store, she could hear yelling and laughter. Robbie heard it too, and, with speed uncharacteristic of him, grabbed her hand and rushed them into the store. Once inside, he let her go, pushing for her to pick out footwear for herself.

"You mean I get to pick my socks and shoes too?"

"Yes." He was curt, looking out the windows and acting very strangely.

So she did. She tried on many different shoes since her socks were easy to pick out, black, thin, and they cut off at the ankle. Her shoes, however, were a different story. She wanted them to match her outfit without looking odd, but she didn't want them blending into her socks. Finally, after about two hours and losing count of how many shoes she tried on, she found the perfect pair. They were black, with deep purple stripes coming up the sides, and looked like a tennis shoe, only without laces. They slipped on, and looked very much like ballet shoes, only the soles were a bit thicker and rougher, so she could run easily in them. The sole had a stripe going around it in deep purple as well, matching the other, thicker stripes on the shoe's sides.

After paying for the shoes, two pair to be safe, and multiple pairs of socks, Robbie and his doll left the store. The clerk watched in shock simply at Robbie Rotten being with anyone, and his attitude; for once he was actually nice, even if he was preoccupied looking out the window. What he was watching was the group of children playing in the play field, located in the centre of town. And as he was paying so much attention to whether the children playing in the field noticed him, he didn't notice that his doll companion had started making her way to the laughter and fun from that very field. As she got closer, the football they were playing with was kicked too hard and went sailing over the wall, over toward her. A girl with pink hair and a pink striped dress came over to get it, causing her to freeze in shock as the pink girl noticed the doll.

"Hello. I've never seen you around here before. I'm Stephanie. Are you new to Lazytown?" Stephanie smiled sweetly, taking the fear out of the doll.

"Yes, I suppose. I'm here with someone…" She looked around her, noticing that Robbie wasn't in sight. "But it seems I've lost him."

The shocked feeling came back, but different. She was truly scared now, not knowing what to do. She hadn't paid much attention to where they went or where they'd come from, she was busy taking in her surroundings and she was wholly awe-struck by everything, taking it all in stride. She couldn't help it, she started crying. Stephanie dropped the ball and took the doll over to the nearby bench, sitting them down. As she did, the other kids were coming over to see what was taking their friend so long to return with the ball and to the game. When they saw the doll, they rushed over to help. But there was little they could do or say, as the doll was too horror-stuck to say why she was crying. And then Sportacus arrived. At first, he didn't recognise the doll, but when she looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy, his mind made the connection.

"Rottenella?" She smiled at that, then frowned.

"Yes and no. Robbie said I should pick another name, since I'm… what did he say…" Stephanie started at the master of disguise's name.

"You're with Robbie Rotten?!" The doll looked taken aback by the tone of her voice.

"I suppose you would call it that. He brought me to life to help him, with what I don't know. But now I've lost him…"

"Lost him? We know where he lives." Stephanie couldn't help but see that she didn't know Robbie like they did. Behind her, Sportacus was smiling at the display. The other kids were agreeing with their pink-inclined friend's statement, Ziggy getting so excited he was jumping up and down, holding the doll's hands. She started laughing a bit, a smile creeping on her face, faint at first, but brighter the more they talked with her.

"You look so much older than us miss," Stingy said politely.

"Robbie never did tell me how old I am supposed to be, so I can't tell."

"Sportacus, how do you know her?" Trixie looked up at the above-average hero as she asked, the others looking to him as well. The doll gave him a smile.

"She needed help yesterday, so I helped her."

"Helped her? You left her with Robbie, how was that helping her?" Pixel put in.

"It wasn't what she needed me to help with."

"What then?" Trixie was looking between the doll and the hero now. It was the doll who answered.

"I was confused, actually. Robbie couldn't answer my question, so I started crying. Then he, Sportacus is your name? He came to help me. But why would leaving me with Robbie be bad?" No one knew how to answer that, except the hero of course.

"Robbie likes causing trouble sometimes. Usually he's funny about it, sometimes he gets himself into a spot of trouble and I have to save him, or the kids, from his crazy ideas." She laughed.

"Now I know what all those machines were from, I couldn't help but at least wonder about them."

"Machines?" All five kids said together.

"Yes. I didn't like my hair before, and he said he had something that could help. We walked through this huge room with various machines in it, but the one he took me to was at the other end, next to a nice full-figure mirror. It made my hair like this," She ran her fingers through said hair, shaking her head and showing them what she meant.

"Robbie had a machine that actually helped with something?!" Stephanie shook her head a moment, before looking back at the doll.

"Rottenella–" Sportacus started saying, but he was cut off by the doll.

"I don't like that name. Robbie said I could change it, but I haven't figured anything out yet. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," He said, sitting down on her other side, "How about we help you think of a new name for yourself?"

"Really? That would be wonderful."

"Okay, how about everyone give one suggestion, and you can say if you like it or not. How's that sound?"

"All right Sportacus. Who should go—oh, I don't know everyone's name!"

"Well, you know I'm Stephanie, I introduced myself when we met. This is Ziggy, Pixel, Trixie, and Stingy," She pointed to each person as she said their name.

"Ah! That makes it easier. I'm pleased to meet you all." She shook everyone's hand separately, even Sportacus and Stephanie. "Now, how about Ziggy start?"

"Okay… um…" He jumped as he thought, "How about candy?"

"Ziggy!" Everyone cried, "That's not a name." They laughed.

"But that's what candy is called, so it is a name…"

"But," Sportacus said softly, "Not a name for a person. Only candy can be named candy, okay?" The little child smiled, agreeing without trouble.

"Okay! My turn," Trixie said loudly, announcing herself well, "How about Alex? It's both a boys and a girls name. Alexandria, how's that?" The doll thought about it a moment before shaking her head 'no.'

"Then," Stingy said smugly, "How about Maria?" The doll thought on this a moment, smiling at him as she shook her head 'no.'

"What about," Pixel's voice came up softly from behind Stingy, "The name Emily?" The doll looked excited for a moment, then frowned and shook her head 'no.' she looked at Stephanie, who still looked deep in thought, and then to Sportacus, who seemed to have an idea.

"Why not Bella?" The doll looked at him with a sceptical look, then shook her head 'no.'

"I want a name that fits me as I am… even if I don't know what that is." They were silent again, thinking.

"Violet!" Stephanie finally said, pointing her finger up into the air in a sort of triumph.

Everyone looked at the doll as she thought about it. She said it a few times, in her head and out loud, rocking her head from one shoulder to the other. After a moment, she stopped, placed a hand on her heart, and addressed everyone.

"My name is Violet." Excited, everyone began cheering and congratulating Stephanie.

"Thank you Stephanie. You picked a very lovely name for me."

"You're welcome Violet. I thought, you're all dressed in purple, and you smell like a flower, so you should have a flower's name." At this point, the others and Sportacus had gotten back to the game in the nearby field. Stephanie motioned for Violet to follow, but she remained sitting.

"What's wrong?"

"I still don't know where Robbie is…" She looked forlorn.

"Do you want me to take you there?" Stephanie bounced up, taking a hold of Violet's closest hand and pulling gently.

"Sure." She got up and the two began walked toward the outskirts of town. As they walked, Stephanie gave her a tour, of sorts, telling her what was what as they walked past, but not taking her off course of their destination.

"So where does Robbie live?" Violet finally asked.

"Robbie lives behind the billboard right outside of town."

"How do you know that? I mean, I know he lives underground, but how do you know where?" Stephanie explained how and as they arrived, she proceeded to walk up the three steps to the hidden door, push it open, and walk through. The doll followed.

"There's the entrance," As she pointed it out, the lid opened up to reveal the very person they were looking for. They watched as he climbed out and walked around the hatch before noticing them.

"There you are!" Robbie rushed over and grabbed Violet, pulling her behind him and trying to hide her from Stephanie. "What are you doing here little girl?"

"I was bringing Violet home because she got lost in town."

"Violet?" He turned around to look at the doll excitedly, "You picked a name?"

"Not exactly. Stephanie picked it for me." The pseudo-villain looked back at Stephanie for a moment before addressing Violet.

"And you picked it?" The pink girl looked offended at his remark.

"Out of all the choices the other kids had, yes." The man looked shocked, and acted out wholly at it. He took the doll's shoulders in his hands as he spoke rather loudly and emphatically.

"You met them all? First Sportacus, now the kiddies. I didn't bring you back to life to make friends with the goodie-goodies—" At this, she pushed his hands off her shoulders, balled up her fist, and put them to her hips, standing very straight-backed and a serious, angry expression on her face.

"Then why did you bring me to life? Am I just a tool to you?" He looked taken aback by this. "Is my only purpose in life to bow and serve you? Because if it is, then you can undo whatever it is you did! I want to live for the sake of living, not to be someone's gopher!" All the while, Stephanie watched. What caught her off-guard the most was the reaction that came from the supposed villain.

"I'm sorry, Violet was it? I never meant it that way. I just…" He couldn't finish, the doll knocked the wind out of him catapulting herself at him, hugging his middle and holding on for dear life. They both fell to the ground, where he could tell that she was crying, her head buried in his chest.

"No, I'm sorry, I should never have said all that! I'm very grateful that you brought me to life, really I am." He smiled, not knowing why, and put his arms around her. One hand smoothed out her hair, the other stayed holding onto her hip.

"And I didn't mean what I said, really," He whispered into her hair, "I'm just very confused right now, I suppose. And I do have a bad history with the people of this town. I've caused quite a lot of problems that the blue elf has had to solve."

"Like turning him into a kid?" She whispered back to him; he could feel her voice against his chest, making it seem louder than it actually was.

"How do you…?"

"That's how Stephanie knew where you lived."

"Oh! Well, it's a good thing you met her then. I still would have come to get you. It's why you found me leaving again."

"I know."

"How do you seem to know so much?"

"I don't know- I just seem to know things."

"Well, I suppose it's just a natural talent, or maybe it comes from living with a genius."

"You're a genius?"

"Yes, couldn't you tell?"

"If you could bring a simple doll like me to life, then you must be a genius."

While they talked, Stephanie watched them, fascinated. She couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, Violet would be the 'straw the broke the camel's back' for Robbie. The chemistry between them was evident, and the pink girl thought as she left them quietly that they seemed like a cute couple.


	5. Step in the Right Direction

Robbie's brain registered two things the moment he opened his eyes. One, it was darker, the sun having almost set, and getting darker every minute, and two, his back really, really, truly hurt. He thought about what he was last doing when he felt something moving against his chest, causing a butterfly-like movement in the pit of his stomach that hurt so much that he didn't want it to stop, as much of a contradiction as that seemed. He looked around him to see his doll getting up off him, her eyes showing how tired she was. It seemed that even something as simple as an outing caused her to be tired. Or maybe it was just a relapse of being so new to life. She smiled at him, and that wonderfully painful feeling came back. He didn't understand why it hurt, or why he enjoyed it, but he knew that she was the cause. And for reasons beyond his mental prowess, it didn't bother him in the least.

"Robbie?" Her voice was a bit hoarse, they had been laying there for a few hours, at least, since their adventure had occurred in the afternoon.

"Violet." He stretched, sitting up, trying to get the kinks and pains to go away. He made a mental note to never fall asleep on the ground ever again.

"I'm hungry. Can we go home and get something to eat?"

"Of course we can! That sounds like a wond—wait! All I have is cake down there." He got up, and helped her to her feet as well.

"So what are we going to do?"

"I suppose we either go out to a restaurant or to the store to buy something."

"Then can we?" She did that tilt with her head again, he noticed.

"If we must." He said, jokingly, as he gave her his arm and smiled when she laughed and took it.

They walked out the hidden door, down the three steps, and back into the heart of Lazytown. As they passed the Mayor's home, they were noticed, and with deft speed, Stephanie was out the door and rushing up behind them.

"Violet, Robbie—do you want to join us for dinner?" Her eyes twinkled as she asked. The man started, a bit put off by the request. The doll was ready to accept the invitation, but couldn't as she wasn't the only one asked. She looked expectantly at him, hoping he would understand the pleading look she gave him.

"If it's all right with your uncle." At her nod, the three walked back into the warm home.

"Uncle, it is all right for Robbie and Violet to have dinner with us?"

"Of course Stephanie, the more the merrier!" Milford smiled at the two outside as he waved them in.

Stephanie welcomed them in, showing them to the table, and rushing back to help her uncle in the kitchen. Already on the table was the main dish, roasted chicken thighs, and Stephanie carried in the mashed potatoes, while her uncle had the boiled fresh peas. Once they were set on the table, the two hosts took their places and the meal began. Robbie sat across the table from Violet, while Mayor Meanswell sat across from Stephanie, around a square table. As they ate, they carried on a strange conversation.

"So, Mr. Rotten," the Mayor started, who had the same vapid look on his face as always, and gesturing toward Violet, asked, "Who is this?"

"This is…" Robbie didn't know how to answer that, and, while keeping eye contact between Violet and Stephanie, hoped his expression said, "Please help!"

"She's visiting!" Stephanie came up with the beginning of a good enough lie, with the idea that her uncle would accept it without question.

"Yes, she's the…" Robbie knew he couldn't let either of them carry the explanation on alone, so he tried his best to add something to the lie Stephanie started.

"Daughter," Violet supplied.

"Yes, daughter of an old friend of mine. She's staying with me a while."

"Oh! That's nice. How long will you be staying in Lazytown… my! I don't even know your name, how silly, the Mayor not knowing someone's name…" He mumbled a bit more to himself that no one else could hear.

"Well, my name is Violet…" Now it was her turn to look to the others for a last name, her expression highly reminiscent of Robbie's from moments ago.

"Crystal." Robbie whispered to her, the name just popping into his head.

"Violet Crystal, and I'll be staying here in Lazytown until my parents ring for me to go home." She thought a moment, eating a bite or two of vegetables before the most convincing part of the lie came to her. "Or I decide what I'm planning next in life. I'm taking a break after high school to figure out what I want to do with my life. And my father, Robbie's old friend, thought being around someone inventive," Here she looked at him affectionately, "Would be helpful."

"Well I hope the environment here in town helps. I'll have to give you a tour tomorrow."

"Thank you Mayor, but Robbie and Stephanie, have already given me a tour of your lovely town. I even met the Town Hero."

"Ah! Yes, Sportacus. Nice fellow."

They lapsed into silence, but for clinks and clangs, until the end of the meal. Once everyone was done, Stephanie and Violet took the dishes into the kitchen and began cleaning up, talking with one another. The Mayor motioned for Robbie, who was completely out of his comfort zone without his doll around, to follow him into the living room, where the Mayor proceeded to turn the television onto the evening news. Of course, Lazytown didn't have it's own television station, though it had tried once, so they were stuck watching the news from Metropolis, the nearest city to them. (It was located through the pass in the mountains, easy to get there with just a ten minute train ride so there was a train to and from everyday. Driving there would only take about thirty minutes, tops, at least to the outskirts.) Stephanie and Violet watched them from the kitchen, both sharing a knowing smile as the two men seemed to be perfectly content lounging in front of the screen.

"That went well, don't you think?" Violet had started rinsing the dishes off and handing them to Stephanie, who was putting them in the dishwasher.

"I can't believe I just lied to my Uncle, but I understand why we had to. I don't know how anyone would take knowing you aren't exactly real."

"Oh, I'm real, human real. I just wasn't made, born, or raised like humans usually are."

"What do you mean?"

"Robbie made me human. Before that, I was simply an animated wind-up doll."

Stephanie stopped doing what she was doing, staring at Violet outright, a mixture of emotions on her face. Violet strangely remained calm, keeping her smile in place as best she could and waiting for Stephanie to make the first move.

"So you're really human, just not originally?"

"Yes."

"Well, I've been witness to stranger things. Sorry if I seemed shocked. I didn't know you could do that." They continued their clean-up work.

"I don't think Robbie knew he could before he did, and I don't think he could again if he tried."

"Why do you seem to know so much about him, yet you've only been 'alive' for, what? Two days?"

"I really don't know Stephanie. I just seem to know all these things about him. Maybe it was how he made me human. A kind of personal touch."

"Well whatever it is, it seems that maybe he made himself the perfect person for him." It was Violet's turn to stop what she was doing.

"What do you mean by that?" Stephanie's smile got brighter, as if someone had just stumbled upon her greatest triumph.

"You two, when you're together- you both shine."

"Shine?"

"Yes. You both shine."

"But what does that mean; is it bad or is it good?"

"It can be both. When I say you shine, I mean that you two have this connection, this spark. I think you might even love one another. In that oh-so-special way."

"Oh-so-special way?" Violet looked over at Robbie, who noticed her gaze on him and he smiled at her. In response, she smiled back.

"I've not even been alive for more than two days. How could I be already be in love?"

"Sometimes love happens when you first see a person. Sometimes it can take anywhere from weeks, months, even years to fall in love."

"You think he loves me back."

"I don't know. One never knows with Robbie Rotten." They returned to their task, almost finished now, in silence. The doll now had a lot to think about.

After Stephanie and Violet completely cleaned up the kitchen, Robbie decided they had stayed their welcome and should leave. Which was convenient, as it was nearing Stephanie's bedtime, and the Mayor had business to attend to early the next morning. Walking back to the bunker was done in silence, the doll strictly avoiding the taller man's hand as it tried to take a hold of hers unconsciously. When they were finally back inside, she practically ran to her room and into the bathroom. Quietly, she dressed for and got into bed. Robbie watched Violet, except when she was in the bathroom, in wonderment. At the forefront was why she suddenly seemed so shy toward him. After she seemed to be asleep, he too got into his night clothes, his own way, and on a spur-of-the-moment thought, got into bed with her, sans his robe. Shortly after getting settled, she cuddled up to him. Smiling to himself, the reasons far behind him now, he held onto her and fell asleep as well.


	6. Talking Helps, Really

Violet woke up with arms around her again, and it comforted her, for the most part. As she enjoyed the warmth and protection, she remembered the previous night, and the thoughts that came to her made her panic. She pushed, she shifted, she dug her way out of the arms that held her, hoping the owner of said arms didn't wake and see her panic. Luckily, he didn't. Once she was out of the bed, and sitting on the vanity chair, did she finally calm down. She barely understood her purpose in life, and all of that was currently obscured by this new development. She couldn't be in love so quickly and surely not with Robbie, the man who had made her life possible. It would be the worse way to show her appreciation to him for what he had done for her. It could be considered the lowest of lows for her to fall in love with him, even if he wasn't her father or father-figure.

She decided that, while he slept, she would investigate her home. This way, she surmised, he wouldn't be burdened with it and she would know some basic places of interest in their home—no, not theirs anything. This was Robbie's home, she was just occupying the space he gave her and she would be sure to keep correcting herself to that mentality. She already knew where the kitchen was, and his storage space for all the inventions that either didn't cut it or weren't yet needed, she didn't really know which. There wasn't much to the bunker, a few rooms that were locked, the keys probably lost, and then there was that one door that Robbie told her not to open that wasn't locked, but at that moment, she really wanted to open that door, though she didn't know why. That would break his trust in her. And she knew she couldn't handle breaking that with him. It seemed like the most important thing in the world to keep that trust with him, to keep his heart close-

"Oh my god… I am really, truly in love with him. And I can't change it, can I?"

While she fretted, sitting in the shag-carpeted orange chair, the man of her affections began to wake. As he stretched himself out, kinks going away, he realised he liked, no–loved sleeping in a bed. He even wondered, for a mere moment, why he ever slept in a chair to begin with. He could remember that finding the bed was a surprise to him, some years ago, but the thought of sleeping in it never occurred to him then. Now it wasn't even a question to ponder. It took him a moment to notice that his doll wasn't with him in bed. And the state of the duvet clearly said she fought her way out. He wondered why, but then he remembered the last time they were in the bed together, and he had held her rather protectively. He got out and made the bed look nice again. Why- he had no idea. Leaving the room, never noticing the small jump in his step, he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal, nice chocolatey cereal, then pouring milk on it. He went to the only place for eating, as was his habit. That was where he found his doll.

"I see you're awake." She jumped visibly, and rushed out of the chair and out of his way.

"I'm sorry Robbie, really I'm very, very sorry." She rushed over to the platform that held his disguise machine and sat, despaired, on the steps. Seeing this, he lost his appetite, and left his bowl on the side table.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," She whispered, not lifting her head to look at him.

"It has to be something," He crouched down, trying to be at eye level with her, "For you to run away from me like that. Can you give me a hint?" She nodded negatively. "All right then," He looked upward, thinking, until an idea came to him. He grabbed her hands and dragged her upward, into a standing position. He held her, hugging her in a very possessive way. "You usually talk better when I'm holding you, so go ahead–talk."

She froze instead. He was holding her exceptionally close, so much so that she could hear and feel his heart beating. And she wanted to hold him back, but she couldn't, so she did the only thing she could. She pushed him away, rushed into the bedroom, into the bathroom, and locked the door behind her. The only effect this had was to confound the man she left behind. Then it left him angry. He slumped into his chair, not knowing what to do next. Finding himself exhausted, he went back to sleep, his cereal completely forgotten.

"How could I have let that happen? How can he even stand to be around me?" Violet tortured herself, racking her brains around her feelings and trying to make sense out of all of it. She figured that she couldn't do it alone, so she quietly got dressed and crept out of the bunker and up into Lazytown. She had to talk to Stephanie about this. If her pink-inclined friend noticed her feelings so easily, then maybe she also could help her figure them out. She slunk around town, hoping not to run into anyone. It wasn't too early in the morning, and she noticed that Ziggy was already up and about, which meant that the other's would be out soon. She hoped to catch Stephanie alone, and she especially didn't want to catch the attention of the others. This seemed like something that should stay hidden from the others, something between just the two of them. As she reached her destination, the person she was looking for and Trixie both walked out, chatting excitedly. For a moment, her hope was lost, but then the pig-tailed trickster left, leaving the other girl behind. Stephanie began a trek toward the billboard when she came upon Violet, crouched behind a wall, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Violet, what are you doing?" That took the doll out of her daze.

"I was looking for you actually. I need to talk to you, but I need to talk alone."

"Okay. How about my house. We could have a snack while we talk, okay?"

"That would be nice," Was the response, to which Stephanie took her friend by the hand and led the way. As they made it to the kitchen, Violet put in, "I haven't eaten yet today."

"Whyever not?" Stephanie grabbed an apple, a banana, and an orange and lead the way to her bedroom. Violet took the fruit that was offered to her kindly, whispering thanks as they walked.

"I was really worried about something. That's why I'm here." The doll shut the bedroom door behind her. Stephanie patted the bed, next to where she sat, inviting Violet to sit, which she did.

"So what has you so worried?"

"What we talked about last night. You said we were in love with each other. But I can't be in love with him. That's impossible!" She started crying as she spoke.

"Why is it impossible?"

"Because he gave me the chance at life. It would be taking advantage of his generosity to love him."

"What if he made you to love him?"

"I don't think he did. He said once that he brought me to life to be his assistant, then he said he couldn't remember why."

"So maybe he doesn't know exactly why he gave you life. Maybe you should ask him."

"He seemed so sweet this morning too…"

"What happened?"

"I had woken up early, so I was exploring. I had only been in the room he gave me, the main hall, the kitchen, and the storage room where he has all his machines. Looking around, I found that almost every door was locked, but they all looked like they hadn't been touched in a long time, so I don't think he has a key. Then there's this one door, in my room, that he asked me to never open, but told me it's not locked. I want to open it, but I didn't. Then I started thinking about him, so I sat in his orange chair. He found me there. I didn't even know he was awake," She paused, taking a deep breath.

"So I panicked, I jumped out of the chair, apologised, and went to the nearby stairs. But he came over, he asked me what was wrong. I told him nothing, but he didn't believe me. He pulled me up, and hugged me. I froze, I couldn't even speak. He asked me again, saying I always talk better when he's holding me. I pushed him away, and ran to the bathroom in my room, and locked the door. I waited for awhile before leaving, but it seemed he feel asleep in his chair. That's when I came to find and talk to you."

"So what exactly are you afraid of?"

"I don't know really. I just feel like this is wrong somehow."

"But love is never wrong!"

"What do you mean?"

"It is never wrong to love someone, no matter who it is. So you love Robbie, that's not a bad thing."

"But what if he doesn't feel that way about me?"

"We'll figure that out when, and if, that happens."

"We?"

"Yup. I'm going back with you. I'll be your, um… mediator!"

"What's a mediator?"

"Someone who helps communicate between two people who are having a misunderstanding. When there's something hard for you to say, I'll say it for you."

"You'd do that? you barely know me. I've barely been alive, let alone your friend very long."

"I know. There's just something… I feel like we've been friends for a very, very long time. I don't know why."

"Strange, I feel the same. And not just about you, but about everything. Especially about Robbie…"

"Maybe there's something he did, like you said last night, when bringing you to life that did it. We'll have to ask," Stephanie said as she got up, grabbing her purse.

"We're going now?!" Violet gripped the sheets of the bed, a panicked look in her eyes.

"Yes. No better time than the present!" The girl took the doll's hand and led her out of the room, out of the house, and down the lane toward the billboard.

"I'm not sure about this…"

"What's wrong? Are you afraid to tell him?"

"Not just that. I'm not sure what he'll do when he finds you there. That bunker is his home, and I feel like I'm just visiting…"

"That was just a lie Violet, nothing more. You live there too. He did give you a bedroom, right?"

"Yes. But he's been sleeping with me since I… well, since I was brought back."

"How'd that happen?"

"I don't know. It started out as a fluke, him falling asleep trying to comfort me. And then, last night, he just cuddled in."

"Were you okay with it?"

"He got into bed after I feel asleep, but I wasn't bothered by it until I remembered what we had talked about."

"See! You two work well together!"

"That could be because he wanted an assistant…"

"Or because he wanted someone to keep him company. Remember how I told you Robbie's done a lot of crazy things in the past, dressing up and trying to ruin our fun?"

"Yes."

"Well, he hadn't done that in a while. A long while, for him. And we were starting to worry about him. A few days before you popped up, we had Bessie call him to see if he was okay. He got mad, said he was in the middle of something extremely important, and to leave him alone. At least we knew he was okay, but you were the extremely important thing he was working on."

"Did he really say it like that?"

"He was talking so loud that we could all hear through the phone. Bessie's ear hurt for hours afterwards." As she finished, they reached the billboard's hidden door. Violet led the way in, and Stephanie helped pull open the hatch on the silo that led into the bunker. Then, with Violet first to make sure everything was fine, they went in.


	7. Reasons Revealed

Violet and Stephanie walked as quietly as they could toward the bedroom, Robbie still asleep in the chair, curled up and snoring. When they made it, the doll closed the door with the same care as they had walked.

"This is your room?"

"Yes. Why? What's wrong with it?" The doll sat on the bed, while the girl walked around the room, examining everything.

"It's just so big. And empty. You've got your closet." She opened said door and peered inside, "And you've got a bathroom." She looked into said room, shaking her head in disbelief. "He was prepared for you, that's for sure."

"But this could have been here before the first time I was animated."

"Well, the bathroom, yeah, but that bed looks really new. That says he prepared for you."

"But the sheets could have been new, never used, and he just put them on for me when the time came."

"You are really out to make this not work, aren't you?"

"It just seems wrong, or too good to be true. I don't want to find out he doesn't feel that way or that he's gay or something…"

"Well, if he is gay, he's shown it off well. If he's not, he's one flamboyant person…"

"What's that mean?"

"I can't tell you, exactly. I'd have to have Pixel show you some of the clips on his computer. But we're not here for that. We've got to plan our next move!" Stephanie jumped onto the bed beside Violet, making it bounce a bit.

"We should wake him up, shouldn't we?"

"How do you think you can carry on a conversation with a person if they are sleeping?"

"You can't, but it makes it easier to talk to a person if they're asleep…"

"Yes, but I said conversation. That's what we're going to go have with Mr. Grumpy Gills out there."

"The way you talk, it'll be more like a confrontation."

"A bit of both, actually. Let's just hope Sportacus doesn't have to come mediate the mediator."

"Why would he have to do that?"

Stephanie got off the bed as she said, "Just in case he really makes me mad."

Violet followed her example with her own response, "How would he do that?"

"Don't worry about it. Let's go!" and she walked out, with the doll following slowly behind.

"How should we wake him up?"

"Easy," Stephanie smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "We wake him up like this," and she proceeded to tickle the sleeping man. At first it seemed to do nothing, then, he would twitch, a limb would move into another position, and soon he was falling smoothly to the ground, looking around wildly, batting his arms at the girl's hands.

"Whathey! what are you doing here?" He quickly stood up, fixing his vest and making sure his hair was just right.

"I came to help Violet."

He looked between the two of the them, Violet keeping her eyes on the ground, as he spoke questioningly, "And why would she need help from you?"

"Because she has something that's bothering her and she's afraid to say what it is." That made Robbie sit back down. His little doll couldn't tell him something. His little doll, now that he watched her carefully, seemed afraid and unsure. She had seemed that way earlier, ever since last night. And she couldn't tell him.

"I failed…" He whispered, not caring if either one of them heard him. To his luck, neither did.

"So can I help? I want to help, honestly." Stephanie crouched down by the chair, looking up at the man with hope.

"Yes, you can," He spoke in a resigned and tired voice. "What is it, exactly, that she cannot say to me?"

"That she loves you."

After his apparent lack of fight, Stephanie had no choice but to be blunt. Violet, who was standing behind the chair, tensed when the statement was made, fearing the worse and praying for the best. Robbie was taken aback by the statement. Just at the moment he thought that everything hadn't worked out the way he planned, even if the plan was lost on him for the most part, everything seemed to just snap into place suddenly. It was like a dream come true for a genius—to have his plan, albeit unknown until recently, come out exactly how he imagined. Even if the pink-inclined girl was a unwanted addition.

"Is that so?" This turn of events surprised the girls, both having imagined him flying into a rage, or some kind of dramatics.

"Yes… she, um… she's afraid you would be offended, or angry at her for it. She's mostly afraid you won't return her feelings."

"Is that so?" He remained impassive, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Yes… she thinks that her feelings are a bad thing, that it would be rude to love the person who made her life possible."

"Is that so?" His voice didn't falter, didn't change. It stayed resigned and tired.

"Is that all you can say?! She's got me here to try and help you two and all you can say is 'is that so?'" Stephanie tried saying the last bit as best to sound like him insultingly, the effect rather funny sounding. Exasperated, she stood up, accidentally bumping into the side table and knocking it over. The forgotten cereal and the telephone making a spectacular mess, the phone obviously ruined by the milk. The three of them went about cleaning it up, Violet running into the bathroom to retrieve some towels, and Robbie taking the broken telephone over to a work bench. Stephanie put the table back into place, and took the bowl into the kitchen. Once everything was cleaned up, the tall man towered over the offender, arms crossed.

"Looks like I won't be getting any calls any time soon."

"I'm really sorry Robbie…"

"Well, you wanted my attention, and now you have it. But I think we should go into the bedroom to talk. This chair is the only seating I have in here," He motioned for them to go into the bedroom, walking behind the girls as they lead the way into the bedroom. Once inside, he sat against the headboard, crossing his legs and leaving plenty of room for the other two. Once they were seated, he leaned in toward the doll.

"So you're in love with me?"

"Yes." Her whisper was so low that Stephanie missed it. He heard it, with his proximity, and smiled softly.

"Violet told me," Stephanie started, hoping to get his attention off of her, "That you made her from an animated wind-up doll into the girl-"

"Woman," He corrected automatically.

"Into the woman she is now. But she also said that you've told her multiple reason why you did it. I was wondering, well more like hoping it would help, if you could tell us exactly why you did bring her to life?"

He sighed heavily, knowing this explanation was inevitable. getting off the bed, he walked over to the unlocked, off-limit door. He leaned against it, legs crossed, folding his arms across his chest. His voice was relaxed and he gazed at the ceiling as he spoke slowly.

"After the last plot to foil Sportacus and you over-active imps, I decided to take a break. I left town. Went into Metropolis, actually. I hadn't left Lazytown for so many years that the changes in the city were a bit overwhelming so much that I left only after a few days. But a few days was all it took…

"While I was there, I slept all day and was out on the town at night. It's amazing that cities really don't sleep at night, yet the day is the calmest. Anyway, while I was in this one bar, having been out dancing and the karaoke bar closing at midnight, I met this woman. She was wonderful, really. The bartender, in fact. I went back there the next night, and the next. It was the last night I was there that it happened. She waited till closing, keeping me around the dark end of the bar, and decided she was taking me home with her.

"Like a prize." He paused in his story-telling long enough to change which leg was crossed over the other. He took his eyes off the ceiling to see the reaction of his audience. Stephanie was looking at him with a mixed expression, quite aghast at his openness in all this. She was sixteen, he told himself, this was something she shouldn't have trouble understanding. It was Violet's reaction that interested him. She kept herself composed, her head still drooping and a fist gripping the duvet. He wanted to know what was going through her mind. And how his story was affecting her. Instead he continued, keeping his eyes on the two of them.

"As we walked down the street, for some reason she didn't want to take a cab, she hung on me as if she were drunk. We both knew she was sober, and we both knew she was just acting like a schoolgirl with a new crush. She also knew I was going to be leaving, coming home, the next day. She was taking the chance while it was available, and I could only hope she didn't try to follow me. The closer we got to her place, the more uneasy I became. I only had one drink, as I did every night, and a wine cooler doesn't really do much to a person. Nonetheless, I was starting to rethink continuing the trek we were making.

"By the time I had made up my mind, we were there. Her apartment building was one of many built in a row block, the only thing to distinguish one from another was the door frame, maybe the guard rail on the stairs for some. We walked into a foyer that only had a stairwell leading up and a door to the bottom apartment. She lived in the second story, so we ascended the stairs. Each step I thought to say something, each step I tried to turn back.

"I don't know what was keeping me there, but whatever it was, was strong. And she took me into the bedroom, pushed me onto the bed, and started to give me a show. Needless to say, I don't have to explain what happened next?" Stephanie shook her head violently in the negative, Violet only looked up at him for a moment before looking away, only this time she looked at the vanity mirror. He smiled, knowing that she was watching his reflection, even if he couldn't see her in return.

"As I started to leave the next morning, she came over and held me, telling me, 'I guess you're not the one,' as if all of this was a test. It must have been worth very little to her, because she led me to the foyer door, checked her mail, and waved goodbye like I was a friend who had just visited." He stopped, pushed himself off the door, and walked back to the bed. Seeing there was ample space for it, he flopped himself, backward, onto the bed at an angle, his body between the two girls.

"I had never felt so unloved as I did in that moment. And I never want to feel like that again," He turned his head and looked at Violet. "That's why I made you. I knew the only way I would ever find someone to love me, even if it were as your father or your brother, I knew that I would have to make them, bring them into this world myself. When I realised this, I remembered animating you once, and so I tried to do it again. Only this time, I made you human, or mostly at least. This time, you have more to you than you did before."

For many minutes, what seemed like hours, no one spoke. Then—

"I think," Stephanie spoke very quietly as she got up off the bed and walked to the door leading out, "That the two of you need to be alone. I've done my job. There is nothing stopping you two from talking now."

"Yes, Pinkie, I think you've helped us wonderfully. Thank you."

"You're welcome Robbie. And you, too, Violet. good luck!" Then she was gone.

Leaving Violet and Robbie alone…


	8. Nitty, Gritty Emotions

His ears strained to hear the door to the silo close before he even dared speaking. He wanted to talk in absolute secrecy for what he had yet to say, and when he did hear the silo door close, he noticed that his doll let out the breath she was holding. She still wouldn't, he also noted, look him in the eye or even in his general direction since the last time. But that didn't matter, yet. Robbie still had to finish his tale.

"There's more to the story that I couldn't tell with your friend here."

Violet remained silent. He wondered, strangely, if she forgot how to speak.

"I'm an only child, but not one of those who was doted on because of that. Both my parents worked, my mother was a nurse, and she worked for the betterment of those in her care, while my father was a technician of many fields. He was on call most of the day, but I always seemed to get taken care of by my grandmother. The home we lived in was owned by her, we were just really, more or less, permanent guests. But my grandmother had my father later in life than some women, and she was much older than my peer's grandparents were.

"By the time I no longer needed caring for, I had long been caring for my grandmother. She was the most wonderful person, taught me more about life and manners, right and wrong, than my parents. Whenever I tried talking to them, they would tell me how I should think, and if I didn't agree, I would be ignored. They seemed to think that I willing gave into their wishes of who I was. My mother was even so controlling as to tell me that I wasn't sick when I was. At least, in those instances, my grandmother was there to take care of me like I needed, or the best she could.

"My grandmother was the reason I became an inventor. I wasn't strong enough to do some things for her, and whenever she was sleeping, I would go out back and invent things to help me take care of her. We had a lot of old, run down cars in our yard because my grandmother was kind enough and took in these things when other people couldn't afford to keep them on their property. So I had plenty of things to work with. By the age of eleven, I had already sold an invention or two and was secretly receiving money into an account under both my grandmother's and my name.

"My parents never questioned where I would get some of the things I bought myself sometimes, even though it was very rare that I would. They always assumed it was grandmother who bought me the items. And when they did question, like a gift-giving holiday, grandmother would tell them the lie they so easily believed on their own. That kind of thing happens when your grandmother was a millionaire and her investments were still gaining interest and she was still receiving money from them.

"But when I was 13, she died. I was with her when it happened too. I was putting her to bed, helping and tucking her in, and she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, and then closed her eyes. She even said goodbye. She knew it was time. And then, she never woke up again." He stopped, tears evident in his eyes. The doll, taking pity on him, leaned over and wiped the drops away. Caressing his cheek a bit too long and allowing him to pull her to him, lying her beside him, he put his arms possessively around her middle. At first, she tensed, but upon seeing the desperate look in his eyes, a look that conveyed his feelings to her, she relaxed and held onto him in return.

"After that, things just went downhill. I still received money from the companies who had bought inventions, but now I had to make sure my parents didn't see anything I might have bought myself for fear that they would question it. And I had to pretend with the bank that my grandmother was still living to be able to still have my bank account. At least I knew how to hide things well by that time.

"And with my parents not around often, it was even easier than it seemed to be sneaky about things. Although I kept the house clean and cooked for them, did laundry and made sure they had their bed sheets changed once a week, I was the top of my class through all of this. I was the house-boy, an honour student, and an inventor. Yet they never noticed. I was always called on little things, like a bit of dust that followed them into the house or a stray hair I missed on the floor. They were never really happy with what I did for them, yet I was the one with the problems. Apparently I was doing it all on purpose, making their 'job' harder, or didn't listen, argued with them, even if I was agreeing." He paused for quite a bit of time, looking away from the doll and breathing slowly, trying to control himself.

"They never really knew what they did to me. The hurt they caused me. I was never told with absolute certainty, in a way that I knew they were truly honest, that they loved me. They would say it at the end of an argument, or after telling me off for doing something wrong, but never just because. They never said it to say it, and it never felt like they meant it they did say it. That hurts you on many levels, not being told you're loved. I sure was never shown I was loved, only that I was convenient or inconvenient. No matter how hard I tried, they never seemed to be happy. I graduated valedictorian of my high school and college, of which my parents never knew I paid for myself, and yet it wasn't good enough.

"I never was one to date, but for the girls I did, I was never content. They were either too superficial, or in it for my money or the money I would make with my obvious genius. My parents wanted me wed, but I only think that they wanted it so that they could possibly have a child, of sorts, that they approved of. Many of the girls that I rejected, they would always tell me were the one.

"And then, in the mist of my college graduation, my father had the audacity to ask me if there was an honour higher, and then when I said it was the highest, he said that I didn't receive enough awards with it. That being the top of the class, and having been declared a genius in all my fields of study, wasn't enough. And I graduated with four Bachelor degrees in the same time that many of my peers got one. But once again, I wasn't good enough for them. It was moments like that, that I desperately missed my grandmother." Robbie paused again, letting the tears run freely and not allowing Violet to brush them away.

"Once I was done with everything, once I no longer needed them for anything any more, I left. I took the most secluded place I could find. This bunker just happened to be it. But, when I first moved here, I also took out a loan on a studio in the city. I spent more time there than I did here, in the beginning. This was the place I would come to when I needed to invent something, as space was plentiful and the studio wasn't built for one to make massive or possibly explosive devices in.

"Eventually I gave up the loan on the studio. The city life wasn't for me. I decided that I wanted to do nothing but my work and laze about the rest of the time. I had spent enough time taking care of things, that now it was time for me to do my work only, so I couldn't very well live without having money to pay bills. That's when I started sleeping in my orange shag chair, and on the occasion that I wished to go into the city, I built myself a machine that could dress me. As of late, however, I have been using it for disguises, but it works for either purpose.

"It was awhile after I moved here permanently, working on an invention that had been commissioned, that I met the infamous Number Nine. He was the Town Hero who was here before Sportacus came, and I absolutely hated him. He reminded me of my parents, telling me how careful I should be and the like. So the invention exploded, at least I had safety gear and a place to hide, and I wasn't hurt. Being in an underground bunker also has the advantage that you can't accidentally cause harm to anyone you're living near, and yet he still tried getting the Mayor to get me to stop my work.

"'For my safety,' he said, ignoring my protests and proof that I was taking precautions. So I plugged up the mail chute and prayed that he would leave. I don't know everything that happened, but I do know that he left town. Until your friend came to visit her uncle, and needed help to get the other kids to play with her, there was no Town Hero. Then she took the stopper out and sent the letter into the air. I was actually quite surprised that it was received by anyone. When he arrived, I reeled back, praying that this one would be different. But I treated him like her was the same as Nine, and never really gave him much of a chance. It took a couple of years to see, but I have eventually came to terms that Sportacus Ten is nothing like Number Nine. Thankfully."

He took a deep breath, and said very slowly, "Do you have any questions?"

Instead of answering, she sat herself up, sitting her back against the headboard. With all her strength, she pulled him over to her, laying him on her outstretched legs and bringing his head to rest against her chest. His arms, instinctively, went around her waist. She seemed to take no notice of this, and began softly and slowly running her fingers up and down his back.

"I have such responsibility to my life then, don't i?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it seemed to echo off the walls.

"Why do you say that?" His voice sounded muffled, his face cuddling her body closely.

"Because I was made to fill a hole in your heart. And I was made with that bit of your heart you're missing. It seems to explain why I know so much about you, why I feel so connected to you."

Robbie didn't respond, just laid there holding her and letting her caress him. When he was almost asleep, something jolted him back awake. He never knew what, but in the jolting, he startled Violet enough that they both almost fell off the bed. As he helped her back into a sitting position on the bed, he took a moment to looking into her eyes—and it gave him another jolt. An image flashed before his eyes, and caused him to started crying uncontrollably.

"Robbie! what's wrong? Please, tell me…" Violet didn't know what to do, he was curling up, and the crying didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon. In desperation, she grabbed his face and kissed him.

At least that shut him up. His arms snaked their way around her, pulling her down to him, the kiss intensifying. Then, suddenly, he pushed her away, got off the bed, and went to the other side of the room. By the off-limit, unlocked door.

"Have you wondered at all why I asked you to not open this door, even though it is unlocked and perfectly available?"

"No, I've not wondered why, but I've wondered what was behind that door."

"Would you like to know?" He took her by the hand, and lead her to said door.

"Why? it's okay if you keep secrets…"

"Because I need know—would you like to know what is behind this door?"

She thought for a long moment before saying, softly, "Yes."

With that, he opened the door. Inside, it was like a closet, only smaller, and there was a table. In the centre was a picture atop a box, a small metal plaque on it, and silk flowers of poppies around it. The picture was of an elderly woman who looked no more than sixty, or somewhere in there, holding a little pale boy, a look of happiness on both faces, laughter evident. The boy appeared to be trying to get out of the elderly woman's arms while she was trying to tickle him, his hands batting her own playfully.

The plaque on the box read Poppy Rotten.

"This is the reason you know me so well."

"What do you mean Robbie? This just looks like a beautiful way of remembering your grandmother."

"The box has her ashes in it."

"That means what?"

"The only way I could make you human, in any way, was to give you something human. So I used some of my grandmother's ashes. She knew me better than anyone, which is why you now do."

"You mean I'm partially made of someone else?"

"I didn't know any other way to make you human! And I also thought it might make it easier for you to love me…"

"Could this be why I felt wrong about loving you?"

"I don't know. Why, exactly, did you? Other than my involvement in your life."

"Because you're the only one I've really known, it kind of felt like I didn't know enough of life to choose." He turned away from her, and the tribute.

"You do have a choice though. You can not love me if you want, or you can love me. It is up to you."

They stood there for a moment, neither moving. Finally, slowly she moved around to his front, hugging him in the process.

"Then I choose to love you. I choose you because you made me, and you are my responsibility."

"You shouldn't—" She placed a finger on his lips, effectively stopping his speech.

"I am the missing piece of your heart. I get it now. When your grandmother died, a piece of your heart died with her. And now that you've used her remains, you've recreated that missing piece. I'm right where I belong," and she pulled his head down and kissed him.


	9. Medley

He pulled her tightly into his embrace, holding her as close as he could. The kiss was intense, filled with a myriad of emotions from both parties. Relief. Courage. Faith. Hope. Compassion. Empathy. And most importantly—love. Being a man, he couldn't help his reaction, and his reaction fuelled her own. Awkwardly, he walked them back to the bed, and once there, ended the kiss momentarily.

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes."

"All right. If, at any time, you change your mind, just say 'stop' and I will. I don't want you to do something you don't want to."

"Robbie…"

"Don't. I've never been the dominate one, and you're inexperienced, so I must be. And I want this to be the best experience for you. Not that I'll want you to ever be able to compare me to anyone."

"What about the other partners you've had?"

"They don't matter any more. Only you matter now."

He put his hands on her face, running them down her neck to her shoulders, down her arms to her hands, hands resting on her sides, then to her shirt hem, pulling it up and taking it off. The bra underneath was black lace. It was the only racy thing he had grabbed when he was getting clothing for her and just happened to be the only thing that fit. The fastening was in front, which made his job easier. She just watched him, amazed, as he undressed her. Crouching, he ran his hands down her now bare stomach and fixed his fore fingers into the waistband of her pants, also grabbing hold of her underwear and pulling them down. With encouragement, she stepped out of them and sat down on the bed. He brought each foot up, taking the shoe and then the sock off carefully, placing everything he had taken in a somewhat neat pile near the end of the bed, on the floor.

Once he was finished, he looked her over. He hadn't actually taken the time to when he was bringing her to life, he was more focused on the job at hand at the time. Now, he had all the time he wanted, not wasting any in drinking in her form. She was delicate in appearance, but he could tell she was proportionate, not too much, but just right. Her hands were long, like his own, and nimble, her arms likewise. Her legs were very much long, dancer's legs, and her feet were elegant, as feet go. For the moment, however, he could only focus on her face and the expression it held. It was a mixture, and the strangest one he had yet to witness her display.

Hope. Fear. Uncertainty. Adoration. And underlining it all, faith—in him. He was touched. Mentally, physically, wholly touched. To display his reaction, all he could do was hold her and cry. She had her turn to wrap arms around him, holding him closer than he began, and whispering comforting sounds to him. It was a momentary display, and it ended in a kiss. A soft, yet passionate kiss. He laid her down, slowly, onto the bed, her hair splaying itself out like wings. He kissed from her lips to her neck, down her neck to her collarbone, being gentle and demanding at the same time. grabbing his face roughly, she pulled his lips back to hers, kissing fiercely.

"I'm ready now, foreplay later," Her breath was slightly ragged, arousal making her voice husky.

He could only nod in response, at first. As she kissed him again, he climbed up onto the bed, effectively straddling her. Running his hands down her body, he tickled and massaged her body a bit before putting one knee between her legs and pushing them apart. very much the fast learner, she pulled the other one out from his legs and pulled both up, her knees gripping his sides. He put a hand farther down, teasing and touching delicately. She groaned in displeasure.

"Robbie, please!" She pushed herself up, brushing their bodies together, hoping it would inspire him.

It did. He took hold of her hips, steadying them, and then with care, guided himself slowly into her. Her body tensed, and she tried her hardest to keep eye contact with him. But when he was fully sheathed, she couldn't help closing her eyes and focusing on the emotions tumbling throughout her body. They intensified when he began moving, guiding her hips movements with his hands, and she lost herself. It wasn't long before Violet saw a rush of colours, her head swam, and her body became limp.

Robbie tried not to fall on top of her, his body spent and strength quickly leaving his limbs. Surprisingly, he was able to get himself onto the other side of the bed, the duvet down, and both of them comfortably under it. Strangely, for as little strength as he had, he wasn't actually tired from the workout. Although, he tried to not refer to it as that, for that would mean that the Sports Elf was right about some exercises being fun and enjoyable.

He watched the woman laying beside him, now asleep, and wondered, awkwardly, if he had ever had an encounter like that before. After a few moments, he concluded that this was the first time the woman he was entertaining satisfied him in the same way he satisfied her. He was caught a bit off guard by it, but it was true. He had never finished with any of his other partners the first time they did. It made the event stick in his heart a bit more than it already was, as Violet was his first virgin since he lost his own virginity.

He couldn't help but marvel, "How strange that this lovely creature, one he gave life to, was so perfect for him."

It reminded him of a song. A few different songs, in fact. A medley, really…

He could even hear them playing in his head—

(cross fading…)

_I... I am watching you sleep_   
_It's the promise you've made_   
_What I find I can keep_   
_Oh I… want to swallow the moon_   
_Give a smile back to you_   
_Light your way_   
_Tell the Angels they'll just have to wait_   
_Cause I wanna stay here in this moment_   
_Can I quietly slip into you_   
_You and I can stay here in this moment_   
_Let the world fade away,_   
_I just want to stay with you_

(cross fades)

_There's just no rhyme or reason_   
_Only this sense of completion_   
_And in your eyes_   
_I see the missing pieces_   
_I'm searching for_   
_I think I found my way home_   
_I know that it might sound more than_   
_A little crazy but I believe_   
_I knew I loved you before I met you_   
_I think I dreamed you into life_   
_I knew I loved you before I met you_   
_I have been waiting all my life_

(cross fades)

_I'm not gonna write you a love song_   
_'cause you tell me it's_   
_Make or break in this_   
_If you're on your way_   
_I'm not gonna write you to stay_   
_If all you have is leaving_   
_I'm gonna need a better_   
_Reason to write you a love song today_

(cross fades)

_Drink up sweet decadence._   
_I can't say no to you,_   
_And I've completely lost myself,_   
_And I don't mind._   
_I can't say no to you._   
_Shouldn't let you conquer me completely._   
_Now I can't let go of this dream._   
_Can't believe that I feel…_   
_Good enough, I feel good enough._   
_It's been such a long time coming, but I feel good._

(cross fade)

_We'll I'm not paralysed_   
_But, I seem to be struck by you_   
_I want to make you move_   
_Because you're standing still_   
_If your body matches_   
_What your eyes can do_   
_You'll probably move right through_   
_Me on my way to you_

(cross fades)

_Love ridden, I've looked at you_   
_With the focus I gave to my birthday candles_   
_I've wished on the lidded blue flames_   
_Under your brow_   
_And baby, I wished for you_   
_Nobody sees when you are lying in your bed_   
_And I wanna crawl in with you_   
_But I cry instead_   
_I want your warm, but it will only make_   
_Me colder when it's over,_   
_So I can't tonight, baby_   
_No, not "Baby" anymore - if I need you_   
_I'll just use your simple name_   
_Only kisses on the cheek from now on_   
_And in a little while, we'll only have to wave_

(cross fades)

_'Cause there has always been heartache and pain_   
_And when it's over you'll breathe again_   
_You'll breath again_   
_When you feel all alone_   
_And the world has turned its back on you_   
_Give me a moment please_   
_To tame your wild, wild heart_   
_Let me be the one you call_   
_If you jump I'll break your fall_   
_Lift you up and fly away with you into the night_   
_If you need to fall apart_   
_I can mend a broken heart_   
_If you need to crash then crash and burn_   
_You're not alone_

(cross fades)

_In my heart of hearts,_   
_I know that I called never love again._   
_I've lost everything— Everything_   
_That matters to me,_   
_Matters in this world!_   
_I wish that I could turn back time,_   
_'Cause now all the guilt is mine,_   
_Can't live without_   
_The trust from those you love._   
_I know we can't forget the past._   
_You can't forget love and pride,_   
_Because of that, its killing me inside._   
_It all returns to nothing, it all comes_   
_tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down…_   
_It all returns to nothing, I just keep_   
_letting me down, letting me down, letting me down…_

(cross fades)

_How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_   
_Leading you down into my core_   
_Where I've become so numb without a soul_   
_My spirit sleeping somewhere cold_   
_Until you find it there and lead it back home_   
_(Wake me up) Wake me up inside_   
_(I can't wake up) Wake me up inside_   
_(Save me) Call my name and save me from the dark_   
_(Wake me up) Bid my blood to run_   
_(I can't wake up) Before I come undone_   
_(Save me) Save me from the nothing I've become_   
_Now that I know what I'm without_   
_You can't just leave me_   
_Breathe into me and make me real_   
_Bring me to life_

(fade to black)

* * *

Songs in order they appear: This Moment by Melissa Etheridge, I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden, Love Song by Sara Bareilles, Good Enough by Evanescence, Paralyzer by Finger Eleven, Love Ridden by Fiona Apple, Crash & Burn by Savage Garden, Komm, süsser Tod by Arianne, & Bring Me to Life by Evanescence.


	10. Bantering Does Wonders

_Two months later…_

She put the tube into it's place, smiled, and pulled the lever, shooting her 'message in a bottle' up into the air, higher and higher, toward the air ship that floated so peacefully in the wispy sky. Smiling, she skipped back to where she had just come, her pink hair bobbing as she went, she couldn't keep her excitement hidden.

_Elsewhere…_

"How do you think everyone will take it?"

"About as nicely as they took to my 'giving up' being an ass, by being as sickly sweet as possible. Maybe even worse."

"And about the other news?"

"Let's save that for the big event. Wouldn't want to give everyone an overload of joy."

"See, I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"That you'd get used to being nice and being everyone's friend."

"I will never like Bessie. Plain and simple."

"Once you get past her gossiping side, she's really very nice…"

"But that side of her is more than it should be of her personality."

"Yes, unfortunately you're right… that always made me wonder why she never watched soap operas, though. If she did, she's never gossip about the rest of us."

"You think? or is that a hope you have?"

"Both."

"Anyway—how exactly are we going to tell everyone?"

"I'm still unsure of that myself, love. I'm more concerned with how we're going to be accepted after this news. The kids love me, so there's not a problem there. It's just… the adults…"

"I think I know how you feel—although, my case is far reaching to this one…"

"What, you already forgot about that little lie we told, to explain where I came from?"

"Oh, yes, that… have no clue. Ask the perpetrator, she should have all the answers."

"You helped with it though, so you have a say."

"But I didn't start it. That's all that counts."

"Scapegoating someone won't get you brownie points."

"unless you're going to actually make brownies, I don't care about these 'points' you speak of."

"Now why would I do that? you've been doing so well lately, I can't let that progress be deterred now."

"A brownie or a cookie won't hurt me. Really, I promise."

"Really. Until I hear that from a doctor, I'm not so-"

"I was in perfect health before, wasn't i?"

"You can run a mile now, when I got here you couldn't run half a foot."

"Your point?"

"You've made progress in your health, and junk food won't-"

"Then you stop eating potato chips, those aren't very healthy. At least, so that elf claims."

"That's a low blow…"

"But the truth you are trying to get across must be observed as well by the dictator, therefore you're only getting what you're giving."

"What a way to put it. I always thought you were able to articulate at a high level than you do, on average."

"What are you talking about?"

"The way you phrased something that could have been said much, much simpler than you did."

"I was hoping to confuse you, actually."

"It didn't work."

"Indeed."

"Disappointed?"

"Not really." A pause. "Why are we doing this? Why don't we just grab the elf and his consort and go get married in the city. I'll even treat everyone to sushi. The elf should be able to eat that."

"Is that what you really want to do? you want to just run off and get married impromptu and all-of-the-sudden?"

"Yes… and no."

"Explain?"

"I want to make you happy. But I don't like attention, you know that. I want it to be simple and quick and easy and yet I want it to be perfect for you."

"Really?"

"Truly."

_Hours later…_

"You may now kiss the Bride." Robbie fixed the veil over her head, wondering idly why brides even wore one, traditionally. Smiling, he brushed the back of his hand and fingers on Violet's cheek before capturing her lips with his own. He could feel her smile in the kiss, and saw it when she broke them apart.

"You know," He said as he walked her out of the chapel, "You've made me the happiest man in the world." Robbie opened the front passenger door for her. Sportacus did the same for Stephanie.

"Then that makes me the happiest doll in the world, doesn't it?" She smiled as got in.

"Violet, why do you keep referring to yourself as a doll?" Stephanie was in the back seat, behind her friend. As she spoke, both men got into the car.

"Because I am a doll of a woman. I'm not exactly human, but am enough to be called one."

"Besides," Robbie interjected, "It's my nickname for her."

"If 'doll' is your nickname for her, Robbie, what's her nickname for you?"

"Simple Sportacus—my maker." And the doll's maker drove them back to Lazytown as the sun set on the city.

**End**


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